Residents' Perceptions And Adaptation Behaviors In Poor Areas Concerning Land Degradation And Remediation

Land degradation due to environmental pollution represents a serious threat to vulnerable population in poor areas in China.However,research on residents' perceptions of environmental deterioration and their corresponding adaptation behavior is very limited at present.Recent years,there has been a shift towards Green and sustainable remediation(GSR)within the remediation industry.GSR not only focus on the environmental aspect of remediation but also the economic and social dimensions,while the social dimension of remediation is often being ignored by scholars and practitioners in China.This paper presents a theoretical framework at the individual level to explain the interactions among awareness,perception,mitigation,and adaptation.A case study was conducted in Qinghai,China,where historical operation of a chemical plant had caused pollution of soil,groundwater,and river water.Questionnaire surveys were conducted before,in the process of and after the site remediation,and the results were used to test the hypothetical framework using structural equation modeling(n=272)and to explore public disclosure,public participation and its underlying determinants in site remediation(n=505).Results indicated strong structural relationships between awareness and perceptions(r=0.75,P<0.01),relatively strong relationship between mitigation and adaptation r=0.63,P<0.05),and a weak relationship between perception and mitigation(r=0.2,P<0.1).The study results suggested that farmers were well aware of land degradation issues and perceived potential risks,but they lack in-depth knowledge about the situation and about sophisticated adaptation methods;therefore,they had chosen the easiest adaptation strategy: to avoid the degraded land,by stopping farming and grazing near the chemical plant or moving to other places.These were not the optimal adaptation strategy,and might result in reduced income and negative externalities.Public disclosure is a fundamental premise of public participation in remediation,and community's engagement is a prominent impact category under the social dimension of GSR.This research reviewed and summarized the social criteria of GSR,and the analysis of survey participants' responses indicated that limited access to information created a significant obstacle to community participation and public satisfaction.The authors of this thesis recommended that policy makers should consider more than just technical factors in addressing China's land pollution and degradation problems.The socioeconomic status of farmers should be a critical component in the equation and bottom-up empowerment adaptation behavior should be used in combination with topdown mitigation.At the same time,governments should establish more effective channels for information release from the beginning to the end,to increase public engagement in site remediation,and to achieve GSR at last.